Brush

ABSTRACT

Twisted wire-handled swabs for applying lubricant to molds and the like, which swabs are free of sharp wire ends or obstructions, and process for their manufacture are described.

United States Patent (72] Inventors Wolfgang Kaullnan Northampton;William A. St. Laurence, Hatfield, both of, Mass.

[21] Appl. No. 848,218

[22] Filed Aug. 7, 1969 [45] Patented June 1,1971

[73] Assignee Vistron Corporation Cleveland, Ohio [54] BRUSH 3 Claims, 4Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 300/21 [51] Int.Cl A46d 9/00 [50] Field of Search 300/21;15/ 1 64, 206

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,967,597 7/1934 Schwartz15/206 2,483,627 10/ 1 949 Dale 300/21 2,580,378 12/1951 Peterson et a1.300/21 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Att0rneys.lohn F. Jonesand Sherman J. Kemmer ABSTRACT: Twisted wire-handled swabs for applyinglubricant to molds and the like, which swabs are free of sharp wire endsor obstructions, and process for their manufacture are described.

PATENTEIDJUN Han 3582.140

INVENTORS FIG. 4 WOLFGANG KAUFMAN BYWILLIAM A. ST. LAURENCE ATTORNEYBRUSH This invention concerns a brush and more particularly pertains toa wire-handled brush or swab which has a smooth handle and afiber-containing brush head having no exposed metal parts and to aprocess for its manufacture.

It has been known previously that wire-handled swabs can be made byfirst bending a length of wire in a U-shape, wrapping some strands ofyarn around the bent end of this shape, placing hanks of fiber or yarnbetween the two legs of the U-shaped wire, mechanically grasping theU-shaped wire at its two extremities and twisting the wire numeroustimes in a single direction so that the yarn is tightly clamped withinthe twists forming a brush or swab at one end of the wire. Usually inthis type of operation one leg of the U-shaped wire is longer than theother, and this longer portion remains untwisted and is bent into a ringto make a round end on the handle.

In another prior art method a strand of wire is formed into a U-shape,but the banks of yarn are placed between the legs near the open end ofthe U-shape. The wire is twisted as described above and results in aswab or brush having a closed ring at the end of the handle but lcaves ashort section of exposed twisted wire emerging from the swab or brushend.

There are other slight variations of the foregoing methods which havebeen used in the past to produce twisted wire-handled brushes or swabs.These prior art methods have some decided disadvantages. The firstmentioned method above produces a swab or brush which does not alwayshave a satisfactory closure of the ring on the handle end, and this canresult in some danger to the operator using such a brush, for instance,when he is using the brush as a swab to coat the insides of a mold witha lubricant mixture for ease of release of the glass product formed insaid mold and for reduction of friction wear on the mold surface withcontinued use in the glass industry. A poor closure on the ring at theend of the brush might cause danger to the operator when he is rapidlyswabbing out many molds because the swab can be caught in the machineryand be pulled from him, possibly resulting in his getting the openportion of the ring at the end of the handle of the swab caught; in hishand or glove and actually pulling his hand, arm and other parts of hisbody into the machine.

In regardto the second type of construction of the prior art mentionedabove, the yarn wrapping around the swab end of the brush is not alwaysas snug and tight as it should be; and if bare wire is exposed at thisend of the brush, it can cause damage to the mold at the worst and willalso present an area of the swab which will not carry lubricantproperly. In order to avoid damage to the mold by a swab of this type ofconstruction, the protruding wire end is usually doubled back uponitself and mashed tightly against the long axis of the shaft which formsthe swab handle. The bare wire end then becomes embedded in the yarn andfrequently becomes difficult to locate for mashing. The result offailure to properly mash the wire end creates a hidden wire hook whichcan become caught in the mold and result in either damage to the mold asit moves between stations or a personal safety hazard to the operatorsuch as described in the preceeding paragraph.

We have discovered a new method for producing twisted wire-handledbrushes or swabs which are particularly useful in the application oflubricants and release agents to molds which is further illustrated inthe accompanying drawing wherein FIG. I shows an overall view of thefinished brush or swab,

FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway view of the brush end taken along line 2-2of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an end view of the brush taken from the brushhead end alongline 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the double-U end-shaped wire with sleeveand hank of yarn or fiber in proper position before the twistingoperation.

The brush or swab of this invention is constructed from a strand of wire1 which is bent into a double-U shape and upon which at one of the Uends is slipped a fabric sleeve 2. The

wire is then brought to ether and welded or soldered at 3 to produce acompletely c osed loop. The fibers or hank of yarn such as cotton yarn 4are next placed between the legs of the wire loop, the article is thenmechanically grasped at each end and the wire is twisted upon itselfseveral times to produce the final brush having a twisted wire handle 5with a closed loop 6 at the end thereof.

Although the brush or swab described above has been specificallymentioned as being useful as a swab for applying lubricants and the liketo glass molds, it is to be understood that this type of constructioncan be used in many other applications and for many other purposes, suchas bottle brushes, vacuum bottle brushes, dust mops, swabs for greasingmachinery, swabs for cleaning gun bores, radiator tube-cleaning brushesand the like.

Although the brush head-filling material 4 is preferably a natural orsynthetic fiber or yarn, it is not meant to be so restricted. Strands ofother materials, such as steel, stainless steel or brass wire, can beused as filling materials in the construction of tube-cleaning brushes,flue-cleaning brushes and the like.

We claim:

I. The method for manufacture of a wire-handle swab or brushcomprising 1. bending a strand of wire into an elongated shape-havingtwo legs, two U-shaped opposite ends, and two abutting but not connectedstrand ends located at a point between the two U-shaped ends,

2. slipping a fabric sleeve upon one of the U-shaped ends,

3. joining said abutting strand ends by welding, soldering or othermeans,

4. placing a plurality of substantially mutually parallel fibers orstrands of yarn between and at substantially right angles to the legsand near the U-shaped end bearing the fabric sleeve,

5. mechanically grasping the U-shaped ends and twisting the wire uponitself in a single direction a plurality of times so as to form a brushor swab having a twisted wire handle with a closed loop at the endopposite the swab or brush end thereof.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the fiber or yarn material is cotton.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the fabric sleeve is cotton fabric.

1. The method for manufacture of a wire-handle swab or brushcomprising
 1. bending a strand of wire into an elongated shape havingtwo legs, two U-shaped opposite ends, and two abutting but not connectedstrand ends located at a point between the two Ushaped ends,
 2. slippinga fabric sleeve upon one of the U-shaped ends,
 3. joining said abuttingstrand ends by welding, soldering or other means,
 4. placing a pluralityof substantially mutually parallel fibers or strands of yarn between andat substantially right angles to the legs and near the U-shaped endbearing the fabric sleeve,
 5. mechanically grasping the U-shaped endsand twisting the wire upon itself in a single direction a plurality oftimes so as to form a brush or swab having a twisted wire handle with aclosed loop at the end opposite the swab or brush end thereof. 2.slipping a fabric sleeve upon one of the U-shaped ends,
 2. The processof claim 1 wherein the fiber or yarn material is cotton.
 3. The processof claim 2 wherein the fabric sleeve is cotton fabric.
 3. joining saidabutting strand ends by welding, soldering or other means,
 4. placing aplurality of substantially mutually parallel fibers or strands of yarnbetween and at substantially right angles to the legs and near theU-shaped end bearing the fabric sleeve,
 5. mechanically grasping theU-shaped ends and twisting the wire upon itself in a single direction aplurality of times so as to form a brush or swab having a twisted wirehandle with a closed loop at the end opposite the swab or brush endthereof.